Pottstown Classics Car Club restoring vehicle for Montco
veteran
-By Brandie Kessler
bkessler@pottsmerc.com photos
by John Strickler
Pottstown Mercury Video Interview Clips POTTSTOWN November 07, 2010— Although its motto is “Helping the community through a hobby,” the Pottstown Classics Car Club is hoping its latest effort to help one veteran will also serve as a way to honor all veterans. “We got an email from this gal saying her husband was a veteran and he wanted to restore is ’67 Ford Galaxie,” said Mike Ullman, Pottstown Classics Car Club president. The veteran, 29-year-old Brad Herron, of Blue Bell, was a member of the Army 82nd Airborne and served for 6½ years, including service in Afghanistan, Iraq and during Hurricane Katrina. Herron, Ullman explained, is 70 percent disabled and suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Ullman said he learned from Herron’s wife, Dina, that Herron wanted to restore his Ford Galaxie,wasn’t able to. Ullman said he spoke with other Pottstown Classics members, including Gary Pace and Tony Ziemba, and they decided they were going to do what they could to get the car restored for Herron. Having learned from Herron’s wife that he is a fan of the TV show “Overhaulin” where the vehicle owner is initially tricked into believing their car was stolen or impounded, only to find out it was renovated, Ullman and the other club members decided to try and pull off a similar scenario when they went to get Herron’s vehicle. Ullman said he and other club members made the trip out to Blue Bell where Herron lives with his wife. They took along a trailer and their acting skills, aiming to have Herron believe they were impounding his vehicle. Herron said he was fooled at first. “I was home from work and Dina said ‘There’s someone out there who looks like they’re going to tow your car,’” Herron recalled. He went outside where he was met by Ullman and his coconspirators. “They told me they were going to tow my car to the Philadelphia impound yard,” Herron said, explaining that while he may have appeared to stay calm, he was boiling mad inside at the thought of his car being taken from him. But before Herron boiled over, he took note that each of the guys was wearing a Pottstown Classics Car Club shirt, and he knew the situation wasn’t what it seemed. “It was a really fun experience,” Herron said, noting that it was more fun after he knew that his car was going to be restored and not taken to the impound lot. After the car was towed from Herron’s residence, the Pottstown Classics members went to work seeing how they would be able to make the project, which will likely cost tens of thousands of dollars and taken months to complete. Ullman said the club reached out to local businesses, hoping to get some financial support for the project, or some donations of parts or labor. What they were met with was generosity and a willingness to help. “At first I was shocked, because I didn’t think we would get the support with the economy the ay it is,” Ullman said. The positive response has been “unbelievable,” he said. Among those who have agreed to help with the project are two Pottstown High School students, Cody Christman and Zach Moore. The juniors are in auto technology at the school, and were among the most motivated in their class to help with the project, according to their teacher, Willy Bertoti. “They were the most interested students in the project,” Bertoti said. He noted that with a great project like restoring the 1967 Ford, finding enthusiasm isn’t too difficult for most car enthusiasts. “This is the kind of project that makes kids want to get into this field,” Bertoti said. The boys are allowed to work on the car one day a week and they said they’re looking forward to seeing the project through the to end. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, and a good learning experience,” Moore said. “This is what I want to eventually do for my career,” Christman noted. Moore said the decision to give up his time to help Herron is an easy one. “He gave up his time fighting for our country and we’re going to give up our time working on his car for him, to get it how he wants it to be.” Dan Woods with D&W Motorsports in Boyertown, said agreeing for many of the Ford’s parts was a no-brainer.“It’s for a good cause, it’s for a disabled veteran,” Woods said. “We’ve gotta do this. This is what it’s all about.” Derek White, owner of Street Vizions, 1605 S. Keim St., which does parts, fabrication and custom paint, said signing on to do work on the vehicle was also an easy choice for him. “We were asked to look at the website, see what was going on with the Pottstown Classics,” White said, explaining how he learned about the goal of renovated Herron’s vehicle. “For us to do this, was no problem. It’s our way of saying thanks.” White is going to have Christman and Moore come out to his shop to work on the vehicle and said he’s happy to do that because it allows younger people to get real experience working with classic cars. “The hobby of working on classic cars is more for the older guys,” White said. “So we’re trying to get the younger kids back involved in building the hotrods, building the classic cars, just turn it back around.” Ullman said there are many other businesses and individuals who have stepped up to help with the project, including Automotive Machine Specialty in Pottstown which has donated a new brake system; Lombardo’s Transmission Specialists is going to do transmission; J&S Paint Supply is donating paint and sealer, etc. Asked how he felt to have so many people putting effort into restoring his car, Herron said he is humbled. “I think if you were to ask any veteran who served, they would tell you they don’t deserve it because it was our choice to enlist,” Herron said. “We didn’t do it to be rewarded or receive some type of accolade. But I am very gracious, though.” He explained that he began the enlistment process on Sept. 7, 2001, and went to basic training in January 2002. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg. He was a parachute infantryman and was deployed to Afghanistan from January to do all the powder coating through August 2003; Iraq from January through May 2004; and was assigned to help evacuate buildings and escort people to safety during Hurricane Katrina. Herron said he always wanted to enlist in the Army, and doing so allowed him to turn his life around after getting into some trouble as a teenager. He said he was always in to classic cars, and his first vehicle was an old Dodge Charger. Herron said he loves his Galaxie and wanted to restore it because it’s kind of “an obscure car and you don’t see many of them driving around.” And while the primary goal of the project is to honor and thank Herron for his service, the Pottstown Classics members explained that maybe they will be able to accomplish more than that by the time the car’s complete. “What made me want to do this is he’s a disabled vet and our vets do not get enough help from the government, and the American people just seem to forget about the vets, and I think it’s sad,” Ullman said. Pace agreed, and noted that doing something to help Herron could have a ripple effect and help many other veterans. “We thought this would be a way to, one, honor our vet, ... but it’s also to make people aware of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Pace said. “We hope this will carry on and maybe others will learn that showing goodness and kindness will have an effect and maybe they will pass it on.” Herron said he, too, is appreciative that this experience may give him an opportunity to raise awareness about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “If you notice the veterans that come home and you don’t think there’s anything wrong with them ... never judge a book by its cover,” Herron said, noting that if you look at him, he may not be missing a limb, but the disorder affects his life greatly. He explained that often these veterans need someone to talk to and want to talk, an he suggested “try to find what their story is. Lend them your ear.” For anyone who experiences Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Herron said there’s no shame in asking for help or admitting that something’s wrong. “If you need help, get help,” Herron said. “There’s no shame and there’s resources out there because people really do care.” The plan is for the Ford to be complete by May, and for it to be unveiled to Herron at the Pottstown Classics Car Club Nostalgia Nights Car Show on May 7 on High Street. And when the vehicle is unveiled, Ullman said he hopes not only Herron feels honored. “It’s not just for Brad, it’s being done for Brad, but it’s in respect for all of our veterans,” Ullman said. “We’re going to salute all the vets. At the May unveiling … we’re going to honor all vets.” Although much of the labor and parts for Herron’s Ford have been generously donated, the Pottstown Classics Car Club is still looking for donations to fund the project. Anyone interested in making a contribution may do so by sending their donation payable to: Pottstown Classics Car Club, Herron Restoration Project, National Penn Bank, 1830 E. High St., Pottstown, PA 19464. Donations may also be made online at www.pottstownclassics. com, where a full list of sponsors is also available. For more information about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder visit the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov By Brandie Kessler
bkessler@pottsmerc.com
Webpage Dedicated To This Salute!
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